University of California admits fewer applicants

SAN FRANCISCO 
Fewer high school students are getting acceptance letters from the University of California this year after UC received a record number of applications and cut freshman enrollment in response to the state's budget crisis.

"This was an exceptionally competitive year for admission to UC," said Susan Wilbur, UC's director of undergraduate admissions.

It was unclear how the recession would affect the number of admitted students who will enroll at UC campuses. Students must decide by May 1.

"This year is really unprecedented in many ways," Wilbur said. "The reality is we really don't know how students and their families will react this year given the economic situation.

The low admission rate reflects UC regents' decision in January to reduce freshman enrollment by 2,300 students, or 6 percent. Enrollment will be cut at the Davis, Irvine, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz campuses; remain the same at Berkeley and UCLA; and grow at Merced.

The number of students applying for undergraduate admission for the fall 2009 term increased by nearly 5 percent to almost 127,000, up from 121,000 applications for fall 2008.

About 35 percent of admitted California students are Asian American, 33 percent are white, 22 percent are Latino, 4 percent are African American and 0.7 percent are American Indian.

Almost nine in 10 admitted students are California residents, with the remainder of the class made up of out-of-state and international students. The admitted class is 57 percent female and 43 percent male – consistent with numbers over the past decade.

UCLA remained the most competitive campus, admitting only 21.4 percent of California freshman applicants. UC Riverside had the highest admission rate at 79.8 percent.

Despite the enrollment cuts, UC still plans to offer admission to every California student who meets the university's academic standards. About 10,000 students who were not accepted at the UC campuses to which they applied will be offered spots at the Merced or Riverside campuses.